30 November 2007

Developing story out of New Hampshire. An armed man claiming to have a bomb strapped to his body has taken at least two campaign volunteers hostage at a
Hillary Clinton presidential campaign office in Rochester. The hostage-taker is reportedly demanding to speak with the senator, who was not in the office or in New Hampshire at the time.

Here is a description of the situation from one employee who apparently was released: "A young woman with a 6-month or 8-month-old infant came rushing into
the store just in tears, and she said, 'You need to call 911. A man has
just walked into the Clinton office, opened his coat and showed us a
bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape," witness Lettie Tzizik said.

The Barack Obama campaign has a neighboring office. That office, the local John Edwards HQ, and, numerous other offices have been evacuated. Schools are also on lockdown.

UPDATE 2: At 1430est, CNN's Kyra Phillips reports the SWAT Team has made contact with the hostage taker who has released at least one hostage.

UPDATE 3: The New York Times reports traction on the identity of the suspect: "Rodney Doherty, editor of Foster’s Daily Democrat, the major newspaper
in the Rochester area, said in an interview at 3:15 p.m. that his
reporters had yet to confirm the identity of the hostage-taker, but that they
were pursuing one particular lead. 'We’re focused in on a fellow who
has been a problem in the past,' Mr. Doherty said."

29 November 2007

· This week marks the 14th anniversary of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the controversial Defense Department policy that prevents gay men and lesbians from openly serving in the military. Throughout the week, the Human Rights Campaign features answers from Democratic presidential candidates on specific steps they would take to repeal the law if they were elected. The responses by Sens. Joe Biden (here) and John Edwards (here) have been fairly lackluster. Chris Dodd's was more specific.

· Barack Obama's response has been the most comprehensive. Money quote: "The eradication of this policy will require more than just eliminating one statute. It will require the implementation of anti-harassment policies and protocols for dealing with abusive or discriminatory behavior as we transition our armed forces away from a policy of discrimination. The military must be our active partners in developing those policies."

· Promising news from the campaign trail. Hillary Clinton amplifies earlier promises to fight HIV/AIDS and unveils an ambitious, comprehensive strategic and funding plan that will "especially help groups in the U.S. that have seen HIV infection rates
rise over the past several years, including African Americans and gay
men, and address the continued risk in Latino communities and among
women."

· Advocate.com publishes a beautiful interview with Patti LaBelle by entertainment writer Clay Cane. "I don't judge you because you love who you love," LaBelle explains. "I don't judge because of the color that you are. I don’t judge anything. I'm very honest with gay people. I’m very honest with calling you out and saying come up to the front of the stage and let the audience know that you're gay. You’re breathing and you're just like them. The only thing that you have is a different sexual orientation.

CNN senior vice president David Bohrman, the executive producer of the debate, apologizes to Republican candidates for including the question: "We regret this, and apologize to the Republican candidates. We never would have used the General's question had we known that he was connected to any presidential candidate."

More damaging, at least from our perspective, is this report by Media Matters which found CNN edited the entire "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" segment from rebroadcasts of the debate without any disclosure. Instead of the question starting an intelligent discussion on "DADT" and the gays in the military, Republicans have managed to re-frame the discussion as a dirty trick and CNN played right into their hands, deleting the questions and answers as if never happened.

"I want to know why you think that American men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians," asked Keith Kerr, a 76-year-old former colonel in the Army, who retired as a brigadier general in the California National Guard. Gen. Kerr was also in the audience for follow-up, and noted armies in many other countries—including Australia, Canada and Israel—accept openly gay soldiers without problems, "including much needed specialists such as surgeons and Arabic translators." Transcript and video to the question and responses is at HRC Backstory.

The four candidates who answered Kerr's question—Rep. Duncan Hunter, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain—all cited U.S. military leaders as suggesting that the current policy works. Hunter argued that "allowing openly gay and lesbian service people would be a 'disservice' to the conservative recruits who make up the bulk of the military."

Conservative critics have attacked CNN for using Kerr and his question because the general is a member of the LGBT steering committee for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. The Los Angeles Times contacted Kerr who "said he has done no work for the Clinton campaign [and] said
he is a member of the Log Cabin Republicans and was representing no one
other than himself....Kerr denied in a telephone interview that the question was a setup and
said the Clinton camp was "in no way attached" to his query."

Think Progress reports Lott’s "other opportunities" involve joining the "lucrative world of lobbying Congress" before "tougher restrictions in a new lobbying law takes effect at the end of the year. That law would require Senators to wait two-years before entering the lucrative world of lobbying Congress."

Lott voted against the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime bill and is opposed to including gays and lesbians in
federal job protection laws. In 2003 he was a lead supporter of U.S.
District Judge Charles Pickering's nomination to the federal appeals court which was "opposed by all LGBT rights groups over rulings in which
included slurs against gays." Lott also was a principal supporter of the failed Federal Marriage Amendment—more HERE—and has linked homosexuality to bestiality, incest and polygamy in Senate floor speeches.

Trent Lott was forced from his longtime Senate Majority Leader seat in disgrace in late 2002 after complimenting the 1948 segregationist presidential platform of former Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC). "I want to say this about my state," Lott said at Thurmond's 100th birthday party celebration. "When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years, either."

If you haven't already seen the November issue of GQ, you definitely want to pick up a copy. Chad Johnson, the super star wide receiver of the Cincinnati Bengals, is the subject of an extensive profile that veers from analysis, to therapy, to, well, strip show. "I got my sexy back," the star player tells the reporter, "dressed only in a pair of high-tech skintight athletic shots" that "revealed 99 percent of his body."

"While he's still upstairs," writes Nate Penn. "I take the opportunity to review my notes, but in this unlit room I can hardly read them, and I worry if it might convey the wrong impression if I ask a basically naked man to turn on a lamp 'so I can see better.' "

Something tells us that Chad Johnson would not have minded because the article has several more homoerotic passages. Meanwhile, an incredible Sunday for the flamboyant player, who had a career-high 12 catches for 103 yards and three touchdowns to lead Cincinnati past Tennessee, 35-6, and commandeered a television camera after his first TD.

On Fox News Sunday, GOP presidential candidate and character actor Fred Thompson climbed out of his lounge chair and complained the right-wing network "skews things against me" after host Chris Wallace played video clips of conservative pundits criticizing the virtual tone of his campaign.

Thompson said, "This has been a constant mantra of Fox, to tell you the
truth." He noted that other conservatives have praised his bid for the
GOP nomination and took issue with a Fox promo that focused on polling
in New Hampshire, where Thompson is registering in the single digits.

He
said he is running second in national polls and has been leading or
tied for the lead in South Carolina for "a long, long time."

Thompson,
in a firm, but measured tone, scolded Wallace: "...for you to highlight
nothing but the negatives in terms of the polls and then put on your
own guys who have been predicting for four months, really, that I
couldn't do it, kind of skew things a little bit. There's a lot of
other opinion out there."

There is a lot of other opinion, much of it not good. Thompson currently polls in the single digits in Iowa and New Hampshire—over the weekend MSNBC found "enthusiasm lacking" among Thompson staffers in the Granite State—and hopes to build his campaign around a South Carolina "southern strategy" criticized by many conservatives. Jennifer Rubin at Human Events notes Thompson "plainly cannot capture the nomination without expanding his appeal beyond the South, nor can he address GOP voters’ concerns about electability in November by characterizing himself as a candidate with just regional appeal."

This may have slipped through the cracks in the holiday news cycle, so, please excuse if you've heard earlier. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama was interviewed by Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody and forcefully spoke out against the notion that privileges such as hospital visitations for same-sex spouses are "special rights."

The YouTube video and transcript are via Page One Q:"How would Jesus feel about somebody not being able to visit somebody they love when they're sick? Certainly, as a public official it's important for me to make sure that those basic rights—that basic equality—is available."

Meanwhile, more mixed messages from the campaign trail. After last week's dramatic new poll that showed Obama slightly ahead in Iowa, newer polls in New Mexico and Kentucky show Hillary Clinton as a stronger general election candidate in both states and potentially winning both. But, first there is Iowa ...

The revelation comes in the December 2007 issue of Vibe (PDF) in an interview and photo shoot with BFFs and Omarion and Bow Wow. After being asked to describe the evolution of his fashion aesthetic, Omarion's answer is refreshingly honest.

"Being so young, I want to try different things. I haven't seen many African-American males rock the skinny jeans. I really like skinny jeans, tight-fitted shirts—I think it shows off your figure. I'm all button-downs, Vuitton shades. I'm learning. And I like models, too. I gotta know models."

It's interesting that the over-the-top, tight jeans, tank top and fitted shirt aesthetic is now part of hip-hop culture, having gone from West Hollywood and the West Village, to the West Side and hip hop clubs across the country. At least Omarion is honest: He spends time in the gym and likes showing off his boyish "figure", and, we and presumably many other guys (and! girls!) enjoy watching it.